……“The first such quality
as 1 feel is faith in Him. Mere intellectual faith acquired
over a period of time by reading books, discussions etc.,
may develop certain amount of conviction in Him but this level
of faith is not enough, even though at the earlier stages
it may be necessary. People are often seen saying, even publicly,
that “I can sacrifice my life for Baba” or that “In this world
1 can depend on nobody except Him fully”. However, if we closely
observe their lifestyle, the way they interact with people,
their reaction to adversities of others, their reaction to
individuals and groups around them in the society, one would
find that their proclaimed convictions are a mere exercise
in substance-less assertiveness. If the faith in Baba is genuine,
they would. not be indulging in the manipulations they do
in relation to other people being fully aware that Baba many
times forbade people, and reprimanded devotees for committing
such acts to satisfy their smallest of interest. We have to
watch whether we are acting truthfully, howsoever difficult
it may be, according to the advice of Baba. Faith reflects
in everyday reality. It is not mental luxury or a philosophical
dream. Therefore, on this Guru Purnima day besides the celebration,
that we would be observing, let us seriously think about this
strength of our faith in Baba.”…….

FROM
"LIFE OF SAI BABA" BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

……“Lastly
comes the example of the rivers. All the above mentioned examples
are all objects which retain their identity as separate from
the objects to which they are drawn. In the last, namely,
the rivers, the perfection of the current of devotion is attained
by losing one’s own entity or existence in that of the Divine
or the end of the course. The river is inevitably drawn down.
Does water go back or upward? It is drawn downward and downward,
and finally it meets the ocean. The waters of the rivers were
originally part of the ocean, and after being held up in the
form of water vapour, cloud and rain, they take the shape
of a river. So, it is the oceanic waters that flow through
the rivers and get back to their original source. The devotion
of the river which was issued out of that immense, endless,
infinite expanse called the ocean makes it get back to that
ocean and be lost in it. Once the rivers Ganges, Indus, get
into the ocean, they cannot be pieced out again as Ganges
or Indus water. Purnalaya is the end of the devotion and that
is obtained by the jivas surrendering themselves, that is,
making Atma nivedana, which is the ninth mode mentioned in
the Navavidha bhakti. That is both devotion and also absorption.
After that there is nothing further to reach. ”……

DEVOTEE'S EXPERIENCE

SAI KRIPA

My wife has been suffering from
Endometriosis since 1997 and was under treatment due to extreme
pain. We consulted doctors at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Presently
I am posted at Moradabad (UP) whereas my family is residing
at Ajmer (Raj). Suddenly in January 2005 my wife suffered
severe abdominal pain and had to be admitted to the hospital.
The doctors said it was an emergency and advised immediate
surgery. When I reached there I was unable to decide what
to do. As the surgery was complicated we have been avoiding
it. Advanced technology was not available in Ajmer. How could
the surgery be done? The doctor was not allowing us to shift
her anywhere as there was danger to her life. After passing
through considerable state of indecision for the whole day,
I went to the temple of Sai Baba for his blessings and help.
Ultimately at 12.30 (midnight) I surrendered everything to
asked Shri Sai Baba and decided to get the surgery scheduled
for the next day.

In the morning when my wife was
being taken to the operation theatre I gave her Baba’s Udi,
showed her Sai Baba’s photo and asked her to leave everything
to Baba. The operation took 2-1/2 hours and was successful.
I immediately went to Baba’s temple to offer my gratitude.
When I came back my wife was conscious so I put Udi on her
forehead and told her that I had been to Baba’s temple. I
was stunned to hear what she told me! She said that before
anesthesia when she was remembering all the Gods and Sai Baba,
suddenly she opened her eyes and clearly saw Sai Baba smiling
in the big light over operation table. I was overwhelmed at
Sai Baba’s utmost kindness in taking care of everything and
ensuring the success of the operation. Everybody was surprised
at the fast post operative recovery of my wife. She got real
Blessings Of Sadguru Sri Sai Baba.

…And I called my Master
With mute lips
And a loud heart
‘O Master, so grateful am I
The seed of your love in me
Sowed by you
Has sprout and is longing
Only for thou.’

‘Please my Master
Let my heart be
Only in you
And in none else
Let my soul go
Only to you
And to none else, and
Let my love be
Only for you
And for none else.’

Then came His message
‘O my child,
I have nothing but love
For thou and for thee
And you must love me
The way I ought to be.
Love one and love all
Love those whom you can
And those whom you can’t;
Then my child
Accomplished my purpose will be
And you will love me
The way I ought to be.’

‘Thus my child
Your heart is in me
And in none else
Your soul comes to me
And to none else
And you love only me
And none else.’

Bow to the Kind Sai Who is the
Abode of Mercy and Who is affectionate towards His devotees.
By His mere darshan, He does away with their fear of this
'bhava' (samsar) and destroys their calamities. He was first
Nirgun (formless), but on account of the devotion of His Bhaktas,
He was obliged to take a form. To give liberation - self-realisation
to the Bhaktas is the mission of the saints, and for Sai -
the Chief of them, that mission is inevitable. Those who take
refuge in His Feet have all their sins destroyed and their
progress is certain. Remembering His Feet, Brahmins from holy
places come to Him and read scriptures and chant the Gayatri
mantra in His presence. We, who are weak and without any merits,
do not know what Bhakti is but we know this much, that though
all others may leave us, Sai won't forsake us. Those whom
He favours get enormous strength, discrimination between the
Unreal and the Real and knowledge.

Sai knows fully the desire
of His devotees and fulfills the same. Hence they get what
they want and are grateful. So we invoke Him and prostrate
ourselves before Him. Forgetting all our faults let Him free
us from all anxieties. He who being overcome with calamities
remembers and prays Sai thus, will get his mind calmed and
pacified through His grace.

Thanks and regards to the "Heritage of Shirdi Sai"
team for their hard work and devotion in carrying out such
an inspiring and heart-warming effort of touching the lives
of the readers. We wait anxiously for every issue of Sai Heritage
E-Zine and hope that it's frequency is increased in the coming
days. Wishing you all the best in your efforts.

Sushil Saxena
New Delhi

Herewith, I would like
to thank you for sending me the Newsletter Sai Heritage E-Zine.
I am a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba and I have never been to
India and I have got to know my dear Baba only by receiving
one of his books. It just happened that I found exactly the
same book in a bookshop without even looking for it. I love
him very much and I had promised him last year that if I could
raise the assets of my children to more every year then I
would spend some amount of money (which He knows Himself)
for Shirdi Baba Temple. But since last year somehow I have
lost most of my assets and now I am facing a lot of difficulties,
I am sure my dear Baba will help me to overcome this problem
very soon. If one day I overcome my problem I will surely
come to India and spend the money that I have promised my
dear Baba. Right now unfortunately I could not be of any help
but by receiving your articles it gives me a feeling that
my dear Baba is behind all these contacts just to show me
that he is aware of what is going on. I only would like to
ask for my Dear Baba's energy be with me and my family to
overcome this problem.

Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada holds Satsang on Thursdays
and third Sunday of every month at Gur Mandir, 207 Queen’s
Plate, Toronto (Etobicoke). Introducing "Character and
Moral Values"- a unique 4 Week Summer Program for children
of all ages. The guiding principle of the program is "Shraddha"
& "Saburi" with its curriculum based on the
Teachings of our Sadguru Shri Shirdi Sai Nath. For details
of registration or other activities and the Resource Centre
please visit www.shirdisainath.org

Shirdi
Sai parivar in Vancouver holds Satsang on Thursday and first
Sunday of every month at 8571, 118A St, Delta, V4C 6L2. Continuing
the tradition of “Feeding the Hungry and Homeless, the parivar
organizes Charitable food donations on the 2nd Saturday of
every month. For details and other activities please visit
www.shirdisainath.org

I belong to the Shirdi Sai Group (registered as Persatuan
Shirdi Sai Baba, Selangor), Malaysia. Sai Ram everybody. This
to inform the Baba devotees in Malaysia and Singapore that
every Thursday we conduct prayers in the morning at 9.00 am
and bhajans and satsang in the evenings 7.30 pm onwards. Anyone
who is interested in joining us may please contact SP Kannan
at 012-2739486; or Usha at 012-2392911; or Res: 03-33717540.
Also if you come across any Malaysian devotees, please direct
them to us. Thank you and Sai Ram.

You may have given many different
gifts to your friends and loved ones, but giving a subscription of
"Heritage of Shirdi Sai" magazine would be a unique gift as it
connects the people you love with SADGURU SHIRDI SAI and brings His
blessings with the gift.

Topic
of Discussion feature is intended to initiate useful discussions on
topics related to Shirdi Sai Philosophy and His teachings, Guru
Tradition, Teachings of the Sadguru, the nature and functions
of the Perfect Masters, true devotion, qualification of a disciple,
etc.

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